Consumption
by NotQuiteAusten
Summary: A Slytherin pureblood and a Gryffindor muggleborn. Born enemies on opposite sides of a festering war but unable to deny their feelings for one another. A love born in secret but unable to be contained. Will their forbidden love remain aflame or is it destined to suffocate beneath the pressure?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hey guys, this is my first story in a really long time and I hope you like it. It'll probably end up being quite long but I'm going to try to update at least once a week. Will hopefully have the next chapter uploaded tomorrow. This one's a little short as the real drama begins in Chapter 2 ;)_

 _Please review and lots of love from little ole New Zealand_

 _-NotQuiteAusten_

 _Disclaimer: Almost all characters and settings belong to the amazing JK Rowling_

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Curled at the window seat in her room she sat silently, textbook in hand, as the sun rose above the horizon spreading its first rays of crimson light onto the dewy grounds of the school she loved.

"Red sky in the morning – shepherds warning" she whispered the muggle saying, predicting a storm to follow. If only she knew the true magnitude of the storm about to manifest itself in her life..

* * *

The day began as any other, Lily arose early, using the silence of the early hours to get in some extra study before preparing for her school day. She dressed in her school uniform while humming to herself, blissfully unaware of the importance of this day.

The first few spits of rain stained the grass as she followed her dorm mates and best friend, Sarah down to the main hall for breakfast. Sarah was her favourite person at Hogwarts. Smart, sassy and extremely confident, she had filled Lily's life with light from the moment they'd met on the train in first year. Sarah was a half blood, who's mother had died when she was a baby so both girls had grown up in the muggle world and their passion for learning everything about the wizarding world naturally drew them to one another.

Her friends chatted animatedly about their dates for the upcoming Hogsmeade visit. Given her general disinterest in dating, largely due to her apparent lack of sexual appeal, she sat in melancholic boredom and allowed her eyes to roam the room in search of distraction.

They skimmed from the Slytherin table, where she spotted the menacing Marauders, no doubt planning some cruel prank on some unsuspecting muggleborn, across to the Ravenclaws, where the two closest girls seemed to be having a heated discussion about some school paper. They crossed the Hufflepuff table and back to her own table where they caught on a pair of icy blues staring directly at her. She cast her eyes to the table immediately wondering why McLaggen of all people was staring at her.

Conrad McLaggen was a god, a 6ft2 mass of blond hair, blue eyes and ripping muscles. He was a 6th year, like herself, current captain of the Gryffindor Quiddich team and generally considered the most eligible and most coveted boy in the entire school. Mindboggling to say the least but she wasn't given long to ponder this before she received a sharp kick in the shins.

"Ow! What the-" she glared up at Sarah but the words died in her mouth as she found herself face to face with those same piercing blue eyes.

"Hey" he smiled at her, a Cheshire cat grin which twisted her stomach.

Startled, she stammered out, "Can-can we help you?" It came across harsher than she intended, causing his grin to falter if only for a second. In response she received stony glares from every girl around her.

"Yes actually. You see I was hoping that you would do me the honour of accompanying me to Hogsmeade this Saturday." His words oozed charm, not surprising after all he was a renowned player. Every girl seemed to forget this fact however, the moment he turned his glistening pools onto them. Lily, however, wasn't like other girls. She was wickedly smart and incredibly perceptive. Although she could agree that he was indeed stunningly attractive, she could never understand every girls' obsession with him. He was a little dim-witted and always seemed a little too slippery to her, like a snake slithering from one kill to the next.

Still she was caught off guard by the question and sat a little dumbfounded. It seemed as if the whole hall had gone silent. She looked between her friends, to McLaggen, to the students all around her, eavesdropping on the interaction, all of which stared expectantly. It seemed there was only one way to answer such a request.

Although it was flattering to be singled out by the most popular boy in school, she had absolutely no desire to go out with him. However, she knew if she were to refuse she would never hear the end of it from her friends and would, no doubt, receive a great deal of hate from the student populace for dissing their beloved McLaggen.

Was it worth all the flack she'd receive for refusing? After all, how bad could one date be? She thought.

"-uh…Yes?" She hadn't meant to pose it like a question, but it didn't seem to faze him. Gaining the anticipated answer, his grin widened, appearing almost feral.

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to it." His honeyed words hung in the air as he turned and sauntered back to his seat.

As soon as he left, the hall seemed to erupt with hushed gossiping and her friends started to squeal excitedly and plan her date. However, something in his eyes as he turned away, filled her with unease. Lily was left wondering if she'd just made a terrible mistake...

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 _Please review to let me know what you think_

 _Chapter 2 will be up soon :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Chapter 2 is here! I'm excited, even if no one is reading this :P_

 _Thanks to R-E-B-E-C for reviewing, you're the best_

 _If you like, please review_

 _-NotQuiteAusten_

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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Lily left the breakfast hall with a troubled mind but with the hope that a day of classes would allow her to lose herself in her studies. For the most part it seemed to be working. The morning classes passed without incident and charms and transfiguration proved sufficient to occupy her mind temporarily.

As transfiguration ended she was forced to the realisation that with lunch came another onslaught of questions and conspiracies centred on Conrad McLaggen's sudden interest in her. Unable to answer any of these questions or face her friends' current exuberance she made a quick decision to skip lunch. She made a lousy excuse of feeling ill and against protest started to make her way in the opposite direction of every other student.

She wound her way down the maze of corridors and staircases toward the library having planned to distract herself some more, by starting on some of the assigned work from her morning classes. The hallways were void of all life, all students and teachers preoccupied feasting in the hall. Lily's lie was not complete fiction, the thought of eating did make her stomach turn. She was overwhelmed with a feeling of dread, deep in the pit of her stomach that nothing could quell.

She walked down a barren corridor, textbook in hand, reading a passage about charming plants into animals, when she heard a scuffle ahead of her. She turned the corner and stumbled upon a disturbing but not unusual scene. Three of the Marauders had cornered and were taunting a second year Hufflepuff.

The Marauders were a group of four Slytherins, seemingly intent on causing as much cruelty and pain as possible. The two 'leaders' were James Potter and Sirius Black, two Pureblood elitists and arguably the two most attractive boys in the school. Equal parts handsome, intelligent, commanding and charming, when not inflicting pain on others. McLaggen is only the most sought-after because Potter and Black are ineligible, being both Slytherin and generally perceived as psychopathic. The third, Remus Lupin, also attractive and intelligent but more studious and reserved with a quiet but commanding presence. The last is Peter Pettigrew, a small, plain, wormy boy who worships the ground the other three walk on, desperate to belong and willing to do anything to be a part of their 'gang'. The four were as close as brothers, brothers with a penchant for pranks.

The three boys in front of her were Black, Pettigrew and Lupin. The former two leveling their wands at the cowering boy and Lupin, present but not participating, as was his way. Lily acted upon instinct and ran toward them discarding her textbook and brandishing her wand.

"Hey!" She yelled, gained the surprised attention of all four boys, "Leave him alone." The three Slytherins turned toward her and the second year took this as an opportunity to run for it.

"Tsk tsk. You scared off our snack." Black purred, eying her with cruel obsidian eyes. "I guess you'll just have to replace him _Mudblood_." He raised his wand in threat.

"Do you really want to have your arse handed to you by a girl, Black?" She taunted sounding a lot more confident than she felt. It was three against one, but Lily couldn't help but wind him up and she'd never backed down from a fight.

Enraged by her words, the hot-blooded Slytherin gave a strangled shriek and fired a strong stinging hex at Lily's face, which she blocked with ease.

"I'd have thought a _Pureblood_ could do a little better than that." In the back of her mind Lily realised she should stop goading him before she got into real trouble, but she couldn't seem to cease her sharp tongue.

Three wands raised toward her in response but just as they were about to unleash their onslaught, Professor Slughorn walked around the corner. She had never been so happy to see him in her life. He stopped mid-walk to take in the situation, scanning the Slytherins and ending on Lily and broke into a smile.

"Ah Miss Evans, what's going on here then, eh? A bit of light charm practice?" Jolly as ever and completely detached from reality.

"Yes professor. We wanted to try out some of the new charms we learnt this morning." Lily recognised the easy way out of this situation without resulting in retaliation. It was easy to sweet-talk Slughorn, after all, she was his favourite student. "But I actually had a question about our last class. Perhaps, I could accompany you." She walked purposefully beside him wondering what else could possibly happen today.

She glanced back over her shoulder as they turned the corner, the three were leaning casually against the wall, they looked like predators sizing up their next kill.

* * *

Storm clouds brewed, the air throbbing with electric tension. The storm was reaching its climax just as Lily's final class, Potions, was winding down. Slughorn had been explaining their new assignment, a group project in which they needed to brew a drought of living death.

"Now you are to complete this assignment in pairs that I will randomly select. Let's see…-" Lily zoned out, lost in her thoughts, a mess of Marauders and her impending date. She was aroused by Slughorn "-and last but not least, the lovely Miss Evans and… Mr Potter. How perfect, two of my finest students together."

If Lily had thought she felt uneasy before, she felt downright nauseous now. She had wanted to lay low around the Marauders, at least for a while but that seemed impossible now.

The class ended, and students filed out of the room. Just as she was leaving she noticed Potter was hanging back. Curious, she lingered just outside the door.

"Professor, I need a new partner," Potter stated when everyone had left.

"Nonsense my boy, you have the perfect partner. Miss Evans is my best student, I'll have you know. You are lucky to have her." That was Slughorn, oblivious to the petty issues of oppressive teenagers.

"Perhaps, but we cannot work together." There was a hard edge to his words, he wasn't used to not getting his own way.

"And why exactly is that?" A rhetorical question. "No reason. No, all partners are randomly selected and are _final_. Now I suggest you put this foolishness to one side and embrace your good fortune. I expect great things from the pair of you." With that James Potter stormed from the room straight past Lily loitering against the corridor wall.

Lily was both irritated by Potter's pettiness and empowered by her professor's belief in her and suddenly felt like taking on a Marauder, for the second time today.

"Oi Potter," she exclaimed stopping him in his tracks.

He turned sharply, "What do you want Mudblood?" he spat. She momentarily recoiled from the hatred coating his words and he used the opportunity to continue down the corridor.

"Potter!" she yelled at him, to which he ignored making her blood boil. She ran after him catching up as the first crackles of thunder shook the castle, "I said, we need to talk," and with that she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him sharply into the nearest broom cupboard.

Shock briefly consumed his features before being smothered by anger, "What the fuck are you doing? Y _ou_ dare touch _me?_ " He exclaimed, drawing his wand leveling it at her chest. "From what I've heard you've done enough meddling for one day. Do you really want to push your luck?"

She drew her own wand and leveled it with his and stood defiantly in front of the door. She stared up at his handsome features, temporarily disfigured by anger.

"Yes," she said evenly, causing his glare to deepen. "You see we have a few things to discuss." She hissed.

"You should already know this, but I don't converse with the likes of you, _Evans_." He sneered looking her up and down, but it was as if he was truly seeing her for the first time. A veil had been lifted from his eyes. In this room the outside world seemed to no longer exist, no family or friends or labels or expectations and he was forced to confront the reality of the witch before him. Her unruly crimson curls framing her slim porcelain face. Her cheeks, dusted with delicate freckles, glowed from exertion. Her plump pink lips were set in a determined line, her jaw tense. Her eyes danced with emerald fire, her chest rising and falling heavily with each breath. She had never looked so appealing. In fact, he couldn't pinpoint a moment when he'd felt more attracted to anyone than he did in that moment.

Lily, however, was unaware of the colossal shift taking place before her eyes.

"I think we need to get a few things off our chests before we can work together." His eyes caught on her lips as she spoke, suddenly trapped in the wonder of what they would feel like, taste like. "We both hate each other, and for good reason. I detest you because you're an entitled, elitist prick and you despise me because I'm a _Mudblood_ ," she rolled her eyes emphatically, "regardless, we still have an assignment to do and your pathetic warped 'ideals' need to stay out of it."

"So…Let's just get it over with now." She lowered her wand.

"What?" He questioned, trying to regain a grip on reality.

"You can have a one-time pass. Say whatever you like to me, do whatever you like to me-" her choice of words caused his breath to catch ever so slightly as his imagination ran wild, "-call me names, hex me. Let's just get it over with now so we can get through this and get on with our _separate_ lives." She finished her spiel and stared at him expectantly.

He just looked down at her blankly, straining to contain his crazed thoughts beneath the surface. However, his lack of reaction only sought to reignite her fire. She took a step towards him and brought her face within inches of his, eyes gleaming. "Just do it." She baited and gave his chest a shove with her fingertips.

As soon as her fingers made contact with his flesh he lost any semblance of control he had left. All thoughts of consequences or anything outside of this room evaporated.

He seized her wrists and in one movement pushed her back against the wall pinning her arms above her head. Lily gasped as her back came into contact with the cold stone, but her mouth was immediately covered by James's. Shocked, at first she didn't respond but within moments her eyelids fell shut and she found herself returning the kiss in a fervour.

The kiss deepened further as their tongues danced with one another. Lily had never had a boyfriend and had only had two kisses, both of which were short and sweet and completely innocent. She had never experienced anything like this before. Her body felt like it was on fire, the heat threatening to consume them both.

James released Lily's wrists, his hands travelling down toward her thighs. She used her arms' newfound freedom to wrap around his neck pulling him closer. His hands curled under her bottom, grasping her thighs and lifted her off the ground. Lily's legs hooked around his waist, her face now at his level, their bodies pressed together, as one. One hand cupped her face while the other held her to him by the small of her back. Lily found her hands unbuttoning his shirt feverishly, needing to remove any layers between them. His shirt was quickly discarded and as her hands wandered over his muscular chest, he moved to unbutton her blouse. His lips moved to her neck, kissing a trail down toward her breasts.

A draft came under the door and as soon the cold air touched her exposed chest, her haze was broken. She gasped as realisation of her actions dawned on her. She roughly shoved James away from her, causing him to stumble back and her to fall to the floor. She wrapped her shirt around herself roughly and stared up at him with wide eyes, shaking slightly.

For a fraction of a second, she saw a mixture of undecipherable emotions in his dark brown eyes, but these were just as soon covered with his usual cold sneer.

"Well I guess that's what a _Mudblood_ _slut_ tastes like." He spat, and with that he picked up his shirt and left.

The mutual spell that seemed to have manifested on them within those walls was now broken and they were left to try to pick up the pieces.

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 _Soo..yah the marauders are Slytherin and the drama is only just beginning :D_

 _Again, please review if you like, or even if don't like_


	3. Chapter 3

Consumption Chapter 3

 _Here's chapter 3. Sorry about the wait, things are a bit hectic, I've got exams and I've just quit my job…busy, busy. Anyway, that should all clear up soon and I'll be free-ish. I hope you like the story so far, kinda hard to know, you may all think its total crap but hopefully people keep reading :P_

 _Thanks to Ruuna, Lila371 and one special guest for reviewing – you guys are awesome_

 _-NotQuiteAusten_

* * *

Lily remained frozen on the cold stone for what felt like hours trying to process what had just happened. She eventually found the strength to move. She stood slowly and buttoned up her blouse with shaky hands and smoothed out the creases in her uniform. She tied her hair back in a tight ponytail and took one deep breath before exiting the cupboard.

She was hit with cool air spilling from the open window opposite her. She turned and started walking numbly down the hallway toward Gryffindor Tower.

She passed students chatting in the corridor and the occasional teacher, the rain was easing off and the clouds were slowly dispersing. The outside world was functioning normally but she felt like her own was on the verge of implosion.

Mind racing, thoughts jumbled, she tried to keep her breathing even and quieten the din. She needed Sarah, needed to tell her everything and get her mind straight.

She eventually made it to the tower, uttered the password and entered the common room. Every pair of eyes became fixed on her, she was an ant in the sun, a magnifying glass trained on her and she was beginning to sizzle with guilty. How could everyone know?

She scanned the room frantically, searching for a friendly face, and she found the group of 6th year witches gathered by the fireplace. Sarah and Doe beckoned her over and she walked over welcoming their embrace.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Lily enquired, trying to appear calm and innocent.

"Oh it's because of your date with Conrad silly. You're the most exciting piece of news there's been all day." Hestia replied excitedly. Lily was struck with the realisation that she had completely forgotten about her date with McLaggen. Relief overcame her, momentarily.

She looked at the girls around her, from her roommates Mary, Doe and Alice to her neighbours Viv, Jo, Mia and Emmy and knew she couldn't tell them, any of them, about the Potter _altercation_. It wasn't them. She got on well with all of them, especially Doe, Alice, Hestia and Mia who shared similar muggle upbringings to her own. They were all her family. Jo was very sporty, Alice loved to join any and all clubs, Viv was a gifted baker and Doe adored history and was a voracious reader, like herself. Hestia and Mary were, admittedly, obsessed with make-up and boys and man did they love to gossip. But that wasn't why Lily couldn't imagine telling them.

She didn't believe any of them to be overly judgemental in general. But the severe prejudice towards Slytherin house, whether warranted or not, was undeniable. What begins in first year as light rivalry warps over the years in to some blind hatred between Slytherin and the rest of the school. Admitting to such actions would likely having very serious repercussions.

Despite this when Lily looked at Sarah, her best friend, she thought she could tell her, and she would understand or at least not judge her.

"Sarah, can I talk to you?" She pulled her out of the common area and into their dormitory. "So, I-"

Sarah cut her off, "Is this about Conrad? Because I know I said I liked him before, but I wasn't serious." Lily looked at her and felt her heart drop, she recognised the look on her friend's face. She was lying, and judging by the taut jaw, she was very upset. Lily remembered the conversation the girls had had last year, but at the time hadn't recognised Sarah's feelings to be any more than any other girl pining after McLaggen. "I am so happy for you, seriously Lils." She sounded as if she was trying to make herself believe the words as much as Lily.

Lily knew she couldn't tell her now. "Uh, okay, yeah I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it." Not only was she apparently going out with her best friend's crush but she didn't even like him. Merlin, she was a terrible friend, she thought.

"Well I am, so let's leave it at that. Come to think of it, where have you been? I feel like I haven't seen you all day." Lily avoided her eyes and gave a non-committal shrug. She hated lying to Sarah. "Okay…Whatever I guess" She responded sharply and left for the common room. Lily was, once again, alone with her thoughts and even more confused and uneasy.

She stayed in the dorm until dinner. Although she wanted to avoid it, having skipped lunch, she forced herself down to the hall and silently ate her food before returning straight to her dorm, where she remained for the rest of the night.

She went to bed that night with a heavy heart, praying for sleep to take her and wash away the events of this day.

* * *

The next morning, Lily awoke with renewed optimism. She decided it best to complete any interaction with _the Slytherin_ as soon as possible, in order to move past her earlier insanity.

She went about her normal morning routine and went down to breakfast with her dormmates, as per usual. She felt eyes on her from across the room as she ate, she assumed she was imagining it but was unwilling to raise her own from her porridge to investigate.

Upon finishing her porridge, she looked up and spotted Potter and Black leaving their table, making a feeble excuse to her friends, she followed them from the hall.

"Potter. This is the list of ingredients you need to get." She pushed the list she had written that morning into his bewildered hands. "Meet me in the potions classroom at 4 o'clock so we can get this over with." And with that she sped down the hallway.

"What was that?" Sirius enquired perplexed as to why Evans would dare speak to his friend.

"Pushy, little-" James spewed, regaining his senses, but stopped himself as Professor McGonagall exited the hall behind them. He screwed up the list Lily had thrust upon him and stuffed it in his pocket. "It's that damned potions assignment. Slughorn's forcing me to work with _her_."

Sirius gave him a sympathetic look before a dark smirk curled his lips, "Draught of living death, right? That could be interesting." He laughed darkly, and James joined him, half-heartedly.

* * *

At 4 o'clock, James entered the classroom to find a bench complete with almost everything required to brew a draught of living death and one mass of crimson curls leaning over a textbook, her back toward him.

"Let's get this over with" he said, sauntering toward her. They were alone again and she could feel the difference. She watched him roll up his sleeves and was reminded of him bare chested and pressed against her. She shivered at the thought and immediately felt disgusted with herself. She tried to empty her brain of anything except potion-making and decided it best not to look at him. That way she could pretend he was someone else, _anyone_ else.

"Yup fine with me. The sooner this is over the better." She opened their textbook to the correct page and double-checked they had all ingredients and equipment and then they began. They worked well together, like two parts of a whole, both careful but efficient. Barely speaking other than the occasional necessary instruction, they moved around each other seamlessly completing the recipe step by step, neither ever looking at the other.

They were about half way through and James was in the process of adding the juice of the sopophorous beans when Lily noticed a discrepancy. "Wait, how many beans' juice have you added?"

"11, like the recipe says." James responded.

"It's meant to be 12." She said matter-of-factly.

Irritated with her second guessing, he quoted the textbook "Step 10. Carefully pour the sopophorous beans' juice into the cauldron making sure that _only_ the juice of _11_ beans are used." He smirked at her.

"The instruction must be wrong. The ingredients clearly state 12 beans not 11." She pointed to the ingredients list. He inspected it and found her correct but was unwilling to yield without a fight.

"And you just assume that the instruction is wrong and not the ingredients list?" He questioned incredulously, knowing full well that it would push her buttons.

"Yes, for two reasons. One, it is far more likely to make an error in the instructions than in the ingredients," James raised his eyebrows, doubting her logic, "and two, the colour is all wrong. Don't you remember Slughorn's?" Internally, James agreed that the colour was off but refused to admit she was right.

"You know what, fine, whatever. You are, after all, the potion master's pet." He sneered and added the juice of an extra bean. From then on, they reverted to their previous behaviour, an awkward silence settling over them as they finished up the remaining steps.

Upon completion the pair of them inspected the solution. Lily stared dubiously at the colour.

"Something is different." She pondered quietly to herself, continuing before James had time to respond, "But we followed all the steps perfectly."

"Maybe it's that extra sopophorous juice we added?" James questioned pointedly, to which Lily responded with a sour look. "I'm sure it's fine and we are _not_ making it again." He stated and began to pack up the equipment and leftover supplies and Lily carefully filled a vial with the potion to present to Professor Slughorn.

"Seems a little dangerous to allow students to brew this potion unsupervised, don't you think?" Lily had thought the same but looked up at him cautiously recognising the lilt in his voice. "I mean, if brewed correctly, one drop is enough to kill, and accidents do happen." He tilted his head to the side, eying her as a predator would, its prey.

She chose to ignore the unspoken threat, "Yes well most students lack the proficiency to complete the potion correctly, so there's no more danger than brewing any other potion."

Not receiving his desired response, he frowned and finished returning the equipment in silence. Upon completion of his task, he collected his things and walked toward the door.

"You haven't told anyone about yesterday have you?" She was hesitant to bring up the events of the previous afternoon, still trying to come to grips with them herself but was desperate to know. She didn't want to be blindsided by knowledge from one of the Marauders or anyone else for that matter. Especially considering that she had chosen not to tell any of her friends about it.

"Of course not." James scoffed, turning to face her, incredulous at the very idea. "As if I would embarrass myself by admitting that disgrace to anyone." He shook his head in disbelief before turning back toward the door.

"You know it can't be both," She said quietly, almost to herself staring down at the table. But she felt his eyes return to her. She looked up and met his eyes, finding her boldness within them, "It can only be one or the other." A pause, "Either, you kissed me out of some sort of perverse curiosity, in which case, you would have no reason not tell your friends. Just one more thing for you _Marauders_ to abuse me with. Or," she looked down and took a breath before looking back up into his hazel eyes, "you simply couldn't resist." The words came out, barely a whisper.

James's brow furrowed, eyes darkening, and he turned on his heel and left without a word.

"What is wrong with you? You're such a moron." She moaned at herself, slumping down on the nearest stool and banging her forehead down on the bench. Lily hadn't planned on saying any of it. She wasn't even sure she was finished thinking it before the words were tumbling off her tongue. Something about him seemed to cause her to charge head first into situations with reckless abandon. But did she believe it? She wasn't sure, she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Until this point, she had thought it almost impossible to be desired by anyone let alone be irresistible. But James Potter's words and actions certainly were in stark contrast with one another

Her life was becoming exceedingly more complicated. Now she had a date with a boy she didn't like but her best friend was evidently in love with and had snogged a boy in a broom closet who she was supposed to despise and that was supposed to despise her. And although she would never admit it to herself, she was longing to do it again.

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Thanks for reading 😊 Please review if you have time


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